TedVic Soulmate AUs
by Raven of the Shadows
Summary: A collection of Soulmate!AUs written for Teddy/Victoire.
1. He'll Wait

**He'll Wait**

It is Christmas Eve, and Teddy is excited. Presents wrapped in reds and blues and silvers and greens and golds lay under the Christmas tree, and Teddy has to crane his neck to see the slightly-crooked star from where it brushes the roof. And there's always Grandma Molly's wondrous feast to look forward to.

Teddy's excited for another reason, too. He turned ten this year, and he can, for the very first time, accompany his godfather to the Ministry's Yule Ball.

A lot of people have already asked him how he can be enthusiastic about the event that's always more about politicking and less about celebrations and bores even the adults to death. Each time, he smiles widely, a mischievous glint in his brown eyes, and hops away without answering.

Teddy Lupin has a mission to accomplish today, one he's already been setting the groundwork for, and the first and most difficult task would be to get Uncle Harry away from Aunt Ginny and Grandma Droma. After that — well, the two women are not wrong when they say his godfather can't say 'no' to Teddy, ever.

It is three hours and a million complaints about uncomfortable robes later that Teddy is finally, _finally_ , holding his godfather's hand, ready to Apparate away to the Ministry.

Teddy is ashamed to admit it takes him a whole hour to corner his godfather; he _should_ have thought of the male restroom before.

He's lucky, though, that it is near to where the lifts are — it'll just save him walking across the Ministry Atrium, where the ball is being held, again.

"Okay, Teddy, what did you bring me here for?" Harry asks as soon as the door shuts behind them.

"Er..." Teddy waves his hand around, "I needed to pee."

Harry laughs, and Teddy stares at his shoes. "You're not fooling me, Teddy. So, what's this all about?"

"Uhm..." Teddy coughs, not able to get the words out. He changes tactics, deciding to go by a less direct method. "Remember you told me that Aunt Ginny had known since she was nine that—"

"Ah," Harry interrupts, " _that_ was why you had been asking me stories about all of the family?"

Though still embarrassed, Teddy can't help but revel in his smartness, and gives Harry a cheeky smile. "So, can we go to the room, and you can perform the spell, please?"

Harry grows serious, and Teddy's worried because Harry _never_ gets serious around him. His godfather crouches down a little so their eyes are at the same level and says, "Edward, soulmates are a serious business. For one, maybe it isn't you but your soulmate who the spell reveals the other half to." Teddy thinks he would be a tad disappointed if his soulmate's name was not revealed to _him_ , but he wouldn't really be _that_ upset. He doesn't say anything, though, and lets Harry continue. "Second, if it does show you who they are, are you sure you will be able to carry the weight of knowing? Worrying all the time if they will even accept you?"

Teddy nods. This is something he has thought through. He knows from all the stories how hard his mother had to try before his father accepted her. He knows his Aunt Ginny had to wait so long before she got together with Uncle Harry.

He knows in his heart that he can be just as stubborn as his two mothers — the one who has raised him, and the one who he never met.

"I won't refuse you, Teddy," Uncle Harry speaks again, and Teddy is startled for a second, "if you still want to go there. I'm sure both Ginny and Andy will say you're too young, but if you're really sure, I don't think they should stop you." Harry puts a hand on his shoulder and gives him a small smile. "Just, think this through. If you need more time, I'll bring you back here whenever you're sure."

For a minute, Teddy wonders if he should say no. But no, he's already been thinking about it, and if he can't be sure about whether he even wants to know about his soulmate, how can he be sure he will be able to wait for them, like his aunt and his mum had? Teddy decides he's going to take the chance.

"I'm sure I want to know now." He doesn't falter once when he says that, and he thinks that's what causes Harry to take his hand and lead him down to the Department of Mysteries — to the room of Love.

The walk to there isn't too long, but Teddy is aware of every two steps he takes for Harry's one. He thinks his heart's pounding so loud it is echoing in the hall, though if Harry can hear it, he doesn't say anything.

Teddy tightens his hold around Harry's hand as they walk further. He doesn't know where the room exactly is, but it's like he can feel it drawing near.

And after countless hallways — Teddy thinks there was a rotating room thing where an Unspeakable joined him and his uncle, but he isn't really paying attention — they finally reach the double doors, a heavy lock barring entrance.

The one minute that it takes for the Unspeakable to open the lock and remove it stretches too long, and Uncle Harry asked again if he was sure. Teddy's almost sure he nodded in reply, but the doors are now open. The doors are now open, and Teddy's legs have jammed, and all he can do is stare, stare, stare.

There's Uncle Harry's hand on his shoulder again, and Teddy moves forward in a trance until he's finally in front of the scroll which may show to whom the his soul belongs in the next few minutes.

"Teddy," Uncle Harry's voice pierces through the buzzing in his ears, "you have to repeat after the Unspeakable."

He fumbles more than once when he says those words: _alterum dimidium revelare animae meae_ , and he doesn't even care, because the scroll is unfurling in front of him, and it glows gold as the letters in blood-red start forming, one at a time.

Teddy can't bear it. He shuts his eyes, then peeks one open, and a name is now sitting in front of him.

 _Victoire Weasley_

He knows there's only one Victoire 'no middle name' Weasley in the world the scroll is referring to, and never before had Teddy thought that the little girl he's been playmates with for as long as he can remember is the person meant for him, but he knows now that his smile is as big now as it can be.

"So," Harry asks, and Teddy shakes himself out of the memories of all the times spent with Victoire de-gnoming the garden in summers and making snow-angels in winters, "did the scroll show you the name?"

Teddy nods, remembering that Harry can't see the name. "C-can I not tell you now?" he asks, shuffling his feet.

Harry crouches down again and tilts Teddy's chin up. "Of course, you can take as long as you want. And just so you know, son, I'm proud of you." And Harry smiles, and Teddy is smiling, too, because now he knows who he's meant to be with, and he promises himself he will always wait for Victoire, however long it takes.

And the next day, if Teddy gives her a part of his slice of the cake when she's eaten all of hers, well, no one's watching, and he's done that just because he's her best friend.

* * *

 _Beta'ed by Ari347. Thank you so much, Ari! :)_

* * *

 **Word Count:** 1267

 **Prompts used:**

For Hogwarts Romance Awareness Challenge, Day 1

• Write about someone casting a spell to find their soulmate.  
• (Event) Yule Ball

For 50 AU's Challenge

• Soulmate AU

For The Houses Competition (G, Short)

• Taking a Chance [Action]

 **Note:** _alterum dimidium revelare animae meae_ translates to 'reveal the other half of my soul.' Credit: Google Translate :P


	2. Seven

**Seven**

The hoots from his alarm charm wake Teddy up. He grumbles and turns around, burying his head in the pillows before he remembers what the day is. Any thoughts of going back to sleep are gone and he sits up in his bed — he's turned seven today!

Seven is a magical number, Teddy knows, and there's a chance he could get as lucky as Uncle Ron, who is one of those rare people who have soulmates. He's afraid to find if he has _it_ , though, so he jumps up, his messy hair falling over his forehead, and runs out of the room to find his godfather.

Uncle Harry's an early riser, and Teddy finds him in the kitchen, preparing breakfast already. He doesn't say anything, just walks over and tugs at the man's sleeve, pulling his attention away from where he was engrossed in beating eggs.

"Wh—oh, Happy Birthday, Teddy!" Harry smiles big and places a hand on Teddy's shoulder. "You're seven now, a big boy already."

Teddy tries to smile back but doesn't quite manage it. He pulls at the collar of his pyjama-top. "C-can you check?" His voice is a whisper, even though there's no one else nearby to overhear.

Harry's eyes grow wide, and Teddy knows he understands. "Do you want me to, Teddy? You know you don't have to check today—and most people don't even get them."

"Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione did, though," Teddy says, "so I might! And I want to check today. But I want _you_ to check it for me."

Harry nods and sits on one of the stools. "Okay, kid, c'mere." Teddy climbs into his godfather's lap but hugs Harry tightly instead of showing him his collarbone.

"Hey, hey, son, it's—"

"If there's a name, I don't want it to be a stranger's. Uncle Ron said the other day he had freaked out so much when he met Aunt Hermione, and so had Aunt Hermione."

"Well," Harry starts, enveloping Harry in a hug, "they worked it out eventually, didn't they? And we won't know unless we check, right?"

Teddy hums but doesn't move for several minutes, and Harry just holds him there.

"Okay, check now, please?"

Harry doesn't speak, but as Teddy moves back a bit, waiting in anticipation as, the man tugs the boy's collar down slightly. Harry stares at his godson's collarbone, or more specifically at the ink-black tattoo that wasn't there the previous night.

"Teddy," Harry breathes, "there is a name."

Teddy can't help but gasp. "There is? Well, whose is it?"

Harry squints, then chuckles. "It says 'Victoire.' Do you know any Victoire, Teddy?"

Teddy jumps back in shock and ends up falling off Harry's lap and onto the floor. His godfather is laughing at him, and Teddy glares at the man as he gets up and straightens his pyjamas. It is then he catches up to what the man said. " _Victoire_? As in _our_ Vicky?" His mouth is hanging wide open, Teddy knows.

"Well, I haven't heard of any other Victoire," Harry says, "but we'll have to wait until she turns seven to confirm if she gets your name, too."

Teddy looks at Harry and tries to put all the seriousness he can into his expression. "We're not telling anyone before that, okay?"

Harry is chuckling, but he echoes the 'okay,' and Teddy's satisfied, for now.

A year later, when Victoire flies, shrieking, out of the fireplace at the Burrow where they've all assembled for her birthday celebrations and shows off the name 'Edward John' written on her collarbone, there're no surprised gasps from the adults, and Teddy glares at Harry, but he forgets he's angry at his godfather when the man decides to take him and his _Soulmate_ for ice-creams.

They're at the parlour when Teddy realises he should do something for his now-confirmed Soulmate.

He doesn't really know about this whole Soulmate business, but he's been to a wedding already, so he can make do. He doesn't have a ring, though, so he offers Victoire his ice cream (he asked for the flavour _Victoire_ likes when ordering earlier, pointedly ignoring Harry's chuckles) and asks her if she wants to spend her life with him, and she says giggles and says yes, and Teddy knows he has 'that adorable smiley face' on right now, but she's smiling, too, and he decides he doesn't care.

He leans forward and plants a kiss on her cheek for good measure, though, before running off to get a new ice cream for himself.

* * *

 **Word Count:** 755

 **Prompts used:**

For Hogwarts Romance Awareness Challenge, Day 2

• Your soulmate's name is written on your wrist.  
• (word) rare


	3. But You're a Girl

**But You're a Girl**

Teddy's finally back from Australia where his godfather Harry had taken him two months after the war ended. His grandmother, Andromeda, hadn't gone with them—the memories in England were all she had left of her husband—though she used to visit that sometimes.

The last time Teddy had seen Andy, he had been eight. That was three years ago.

Still, the first words his grandmother said to him—after hugging the air out of him at the doorstep to her house, of course—were: "You need a haircut, Edward! I will not have you roaming around with a bird's nest like your godfather's." Before Teddy could reply, she added, "No, being a Metamorphmagus is no excuse for not being groomed properly.

That's why, two hours after arriving in England, Teddy's at a hairdressers' shop, waiting for his turn. Harry's sitting beside him, in a disguise to avoid creating a scene, but he's seamlessly fallen back into the British life once more and is reading The Prophet as if he does that every morning. But Teddy's not felt so out of place ever before.

A few minutes later, a child, who can be no older than eight, enters the shop, his mother in tow. He sits beside Teddy, and the older boy has no intention of starting a conversation, but he can't help but overhear as the mother admonishes the child who's started bouncing in the seat: "Stop it, Victoire!"

" _Victoire_?" Teddy can't help but exclaim. "Isn't that a _girl_ 's name? What're you doing in a _men_ 's salon?"

This draws Harry's attention and the man nudges Teddy to be quiet. For some reason, both the little boy and his mother are gaping at Teddy, though, but before he can say anything, Harry starts to apologise. "I'm real— _Fleur_? Is that you?"

Apparently the women recognises Harry, too, even with the disguise and all, for she says: "Oh ' _arry_? When did you come back?"

Teddy tunes out of the conversation as the two adults start catching up on lost time—he recognises the name Fleur from somewhere, but he can't quite place it. He instead turns to the younger boy who is, in fact, a girl.

"Yes, I'm a girl, and I'm your soulmate."

Teddy gasps at those words. He would recognise them anywhere, for he's read them thousands of times—they happen to be printed on his arm. The girl leans forward and snaps his mouth shut.

"Did my jaw fall that low, too?"

"You're—you're my _soulmate_!"

The girl giggles. "I know, silly! I just said that."

"But—"

"I'm your soulmate?"

"No—I mean yes, but…" Teddy stops himself. He's older than the girl is, yet he's the one making a fool of himself. "What're you doing here, anyways? Y'know, men's hair salon is supposed to be for _men_."

The girl pulls at her sleeve and shows him the words printed on her arm. "See this?" Teddy reads over the words as she continues, "It meant I would meet you at a _men_ 's hair salon. So I decided to come here until I met you when I was six. It's been four years since then."

Teddy's in shock. He never ever attempted to search for his soulmate, not that the words on his arm were really that telling. "So," he points at her hair, "you decided to keep a boy-cut all this time only because…"

The girl smiles wistfully, and Teddy thinks though Grandma Andy says he's too wise for his age, this girl might be even wiser. Her next statement supports his theory. "It was a small price to pay."

"Well," Teddy says, "now that we've met, you can grow your hair out."

The girl laughs, and just like that, the too-deep conversation is over. They both look over, and the adults are staring at them, wearing identical grins.

"Now that that's been dealt with," Harry speaks after a moment, "who would like chocolate?"

His question is met with three 'yes's. In the store, Teddy doesn't recognise most of the sweets except the few Grandma used to bring for him. Still, he takes note of the ones Victoire picks—she's his soulmate, after all.

* * *

 **Word Count:** 687

 **Prompts used:**

For Hogwarts Romance Awareness Challenge, Day 3

• You are born with words on your arm which are the first words your soulmate says to you.  
• (Setting) A Hairdressers (5 Bonus Points)


	4. Kiss The Pain Away

**Kiss The Pain Away**

Teddy placed the carrot-nose on the snowman's face the best he could and stepped back to admire his handiwork. He bumped into Victoire, who had been watching the elders have a rather violent snowball fight, causing the five-year-old — who hadn't really been much of a help except when handing things to Teddy — to fall almost face-first into the snow.

Victoire started crying, then — she didn't bawl like she used to when she was even smaller, at least — and Teddy didn't know what to do. The adults were further away and had yet to notice the crying girl. Well, Teddy supposed, Uncle Harry _did_ say the other day that he was a big boy now, so perhaps he could do something and not call someone.

He leaned over and shushed, like he had seen Aunt Fleur do. Victoire looked at him through tear-filled eyes, and Teddy sighed, exasperated. It was her fault she had removed one of her gloves, and her hand wasn't even bruised — it'd just reddened a bit. Still, he took her hand into his own _gloved_ ones and placed a small kiss on it — it was another thing Aunt Fleur did and he thought it might just work.

Miraculously, it worked, and the girl's little sobs died. "There, it's okay now," he said, copying off Aunt Fleur again, and stood up to brush the snow off his clothes. His own hand was starting to itch a bit, but Teddy didn't pay any mind to it.

A few days later, the whole family was at the Burrow again. Victoire and Teddy had been playing, and Victoire had gone off to get some cookies from Grandma Molly. When coming back, she tripped over one of the toys that had rolled over. The two cookies fell to the floor, but no one paid any attention to them. Aunt Fleur went over to pick the now-crying girl. She tried to sooth Victoire, but the girl turned her head around until she was looking at Teddy and said, "Teddy makes pain go away better!"

Teddy stared at her and waited for the adults to laugh or something, but they all had this same look in their eyes as if they were thinking about something, the crying girl all but forgotten. Teddy sighed dramatically and went over to 'kiss' the pain away, bumping on a toy along the way. As he sat back on the floor, he felt something weird in his knee, but Victoire was offering him another cookie, so the knee-thing was forgotten.

The adults talked in suspiciously-low tones all evening, though, and Teddy asked Uncle Harry about it later, but his godfather just brushed him off.

A few weeks later, Teddy — who liked to believe he was very graceful on his feet, regardless of what the adults said about his Tonks-iness — tripped over one of Aunt Hermione's weirdly-shaped knitted blankets that someone had dropped halfway down the staircase at the Burrow. He tumbled down and landed on his arm at the foot of the staircase. The pain in his wrist was blinding, and he was screaming out loud by the time Harry, who had heard the crash, reached him, Ginny not far behind.

His godfather gingerly took hold of his wrist and declared it broken.

"Mum would heal it in a second," Ginny said, and Harry hummed in response.

The man picked Teddy up and carried him to the living room. Teddy might be seven and a big boy, but the pain was too much and he was still sobbing, not caring who was watching. Aunt Ginny called for Grandma Molly, and Teddy watched with tears blurring his vision as Victoire bit her lip and came forward to see what the hassle was all about. She had just touched Teddy when a pained cry left her own lips, and Teddy was so confused that it took him a moment to realise the pain in his own arm had gone down.

Aunt Fleur picked Victoire up and settled the girl in her lap, silently communicating in the way only adults could manage with Aunt Ginny.

"Out of my way." That was Grandma Molly, and Teddy closed his eyes shut as the old woman pointed her wand at his wrist. There was a small _snap_ and Teddy already felt a lot better. A potion vial was then touched to his mouth, and Teddy knew better than to argue with Grandma Molly about potions. It still tasted gross, though.

It took Teddy a few more minutes before he sat up. Victoire seemed to have recovered from whatever had happened, but the adults were still looking between the two of them until Uncle Ron got tired of it and said, "Oh blo—" and that was definitely a smack to his head from Aunt Hermione "—what I mean is that you two are soulmate!"

Teddy looked at Victoire, and he knew his eyes must be as wide as hers. He turned to his godfather for confirmation — Teddy knew better than to believe everything Uncle Ron said — but the man simply nodded.

They were soulmates. _Victoire_ and he were _soulmates_!

Teddy thought about it, then shrugged. It was really not strange, if he thought about it. After all, she was the only person he shared his toys — or his chocolates — with.

* * *

 **Word Count:** 896

 **Prompts used:**

For Hogwarts Romance Awareness Challenge, Day 4

• You can take away some of your soulmate's pain for yourself.  
• (object) knitted blanket (5 bonus points)


	5. Finally

**Finally**

'I hope this year would be the year,' Teddy thought as the wheels of the Hogwarts Express screeched to a halt at the Hogsmeade station. He was going to be a third-year now, and the world was still black, white, and all sorts of grey for Teddy.

In his first year, he had thought maybe he would get as lucky as Uncle Ron who had met Aunt Hermione at the train and could see in colours again as soon as they got to Hogsmeade. He hadn't met his soulmate then, though, and had been waiting ever since for the world to go back to how it was before he turned eleven.

He supposed it was a good thing, though, that the ability to discover soulmates got active only when both had reached Hogsmeade. It was the only wizard-only village in all of England, and with Hogwarts nearby, held enough magic to tap into the dormant soul bond.

He couldn't help but snicker at the thought of what would have happened should the world have turned into greys for some Muggle child before they even came to know about Hogwarts. That was why the Professors had to explain magic to them the day before their eleventh birthday — the day before they lost their ability to see colours until they found their soulmate.

"C'mon, Vicky," Teddy said to the eleven-year-old. He had received strict instructions from Harry to keep a watch on the girl until they reached the castle, and Teddy loved his godfather too much to disobey him. He wondered how long

When they reached the door, Teddy jumped onto the platform and held out a hand to Victoire. The girl peeked her head out and looked at the station for a long minute — Teddy could tell her gaze had turned into grayscale, too — before taking the proffered hand.

And then…

And then everything was blurred and the only thing Teddy could see was Victoire as her hair turned from the lightest of greys to the golden-blonde he vaguely remembered from two years before. Her face turned into the fair skintone she shared with her mother, her cheeks dusted with pink. Teddy stared and stared until Victoire jumped down from the train, too, and stepped near him. Her rosy-pink lips formed an 'o' as she took another step and touched his hair.

"It's blue," she said, still in awe.

"Vic," Teddy breathed, "we're soulmates. Merlin, we're _soulmates_!"

They were both drawn out of their little bubble when Hagrid's voice boomed through the crowd, "Firs' years to me, firs' years to me!"

"I — I have to go, Teddy," Victoire said. She smiled at him, waved, and followed the other first years to get to the boats.

It took Teddy a few seconds to get his bearings back, but when he did, he rushed after Victoire. "Vicky!" A lot of people turned around at that, but Teddy focused on the blonde who was now giving him a curious stare. He took another few steps so he could talk to her without others hearing. "Take care, okay, or Uncle Harry would kill me. And Merlin, you're my soulmate—"

"I know—"

"—and I'll have to write a letter to Harry, and then Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur are gonna write me letters to hex me into next century. Oh bloody hell, they won't send me a howler, would they?" Teddy ran a hand through his hair and looked at the girl.

She leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, "They won't go too far; after all, you're already family."

And she ran away.

While in the carriage, Teddy found a chocolate frog in his pocket, and he knew it was Victoire who'd sneaked it into his pocket because he'd eaten all his.

As he bit off the head of the now-brown frog — it definitely looked more delicious this way — his thoughts wandered to how he'd finally found his soulmate. And, he thought, stuffing rest of the chocolate in his mouth, maybe this soulmate thing wouldn't be so bad — as long as Bill didn't send him a howler. Or a cursed object.

* * *

 **Word Count:** 691

 **Prompts used:**

For Hogwarts Romance Awareness Challenge, Day 5

• People can't see colour until they meet their soulmate.  
• (Setting) Hogsmeade - (5 bonus points)


	6. Metamorphmagus

**Metamorphmagus**

Teddy scrunched up his face again as he glared at his image in the mirror. He'd been practising this Meta-something which he still didn't remember the name of for so long, one would think we would at least have _some_ control over which colour showed up. He'd been so embarrassed the one time he had tried to show Aunt Ginny this and his hair had turned bubblegum-pink instead of the turquoise shade he had been intending for. Instead of laughing at him, though, she had turned chalky-white, and it had scared Teddy a lot.

The only thing he could control perfectly since he was two was maintaining his hair the natural brown it was, and he had always kept it that way in front of everyone but his godfather, except for that one Aunt Ginny disaster.

 _Green_ , he thought firmly. He waited for a long time before opening his eyes just a little bit, and he whooped when he found his hair was actually green!

Teddy decided to keep it green, or at least try to, all day. He was going to shock everyone today at the family dinner. He glared at the mirror for good measure, daring his hair to revert back to brown, or even worse, change shades.

When Harry noticed his hair, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's with the green, Teddy." The boy tried to keep on the blank expression cousin Draco had on all the time, though he knew he was failing, badly.

"I'm gonna keep it this way."

Harry laughed and picked him up as if the five-year-old weighed nothing. "That's brilliant, son."

Once at the Burrow, there were a lot of _ooh_ s and _aah_ s from the adults at the sight of Teddy's hair. Luckily, his hair was still green even after all the petting, and Teddy was happily munching on the cookie Grandma Molly had given him when Aunt Fleur came out of the fireplace, a frown on her face. Uncle Bill followed her a moment later, a screaming Victoire in his hold. The girl had bright green hair. _Teddy's green hair_ , in fact.

It took a moment for the adults to notice that, too, and their eyes flew from the boy to the girl and back again. Teddy knew his hair must have turned red under all the attention from how Victoire's hair changed colour. The girl stopped crying then, and said, "I like this colour better!"

Teddy hopped off the chair and made his way towards the girl, tuning out the adults' conversation where Aunt Fleur was telling them Victoire's hair had often changed colour at home but she hadn't known who her soulmate could be, and she was so happy she had found out now.

The boy focused on the girl who was looking at him curiously, and said in the best possible Draco-voice what he had heard the blond man say to Astoria once: "Shall we take a leisally stoll through the garden, just you an' me?" He fumbled a lot, but he decided he didn't care when Victoire giggled at him.

As the girl stood up and took his offered arm in her chubby one, he pressed the half-eaten cookie in her hand, too. She was his _soulmate_ , after all.

* * *

 **Word Count:** 543

 **Prompts used:**

For Hogwarts Romance Awareness Challenge, Day 5

• If your soulmate dyes their hair, your hair changes colour too.  
• (Word) Cookie  
• (Dialogue) "Shall we take a leisurely stroll through the garden, just you and me?" (5 bonus points)  
• (object) mirror


	7. 00:00

**00:00**

"I'm sorry, Uncle Harry, I'll try harder next time." It had taken Teddy a whole day to come to apologize to his godfather, but the man had always taught him 'late better than never.'

Harry let out a long sigh and looked up from the papers. "I'm not angry, son. It's just, and this is really hypocritic of me to say this, but at least give some time to studies, too."

Teddy was too ashamed to meet the man's eye, so he stared at his shoes. He knew it was hard for Harry to take care of him alone, and the man certainly did not like scolding Teddy. Even after the Quidditch accident that Aunt Ginny didn't survive, Harry hadn't stopped him from playing on the Gryffindor team or dreaming to play professionally one day. Teddy himself didn't care about grades much, but he knew he could do it for Harry.

The biggest with Teddy had ever had was to make his godfather proud.

"I'll work harder from now on, I promise." Teddy's eyes went to the framed moving photographs on Harry's table — one of the man's parents, one of Teddy's, and the last one of Harry and Ginny.

"C'mere, son," Harry said as he stood up, and the thirteen-year-old didn't hesitate to jump into the man's arms. "Shh, it's okay, and I know Remus and Tonks would still be really proud of you."

"Are you?" Teddy asked, taking a step back.

Harry grinned at him despite being teary-eyed. "After you won Hufflepuff the Quidditch Cup and broke your previous record of detentions? Of course I am!"

Teddy's stomach growled, then, and Harry laughed. "Let's get something to eat, son."

* * *

As the man moved gracefully around the kitchen, preparing lunch, Teddy told him about all the pranks he had played, all the messes he and his friends had fallen into. Harry laughed out loud when Teddy told him of the time he kicked Filch's cat from under the Invisibility cloak.

"Ron had wanted to do that once," said the man. Teddy could totally imagine it.

The duo ate their food in relative silence. Teddy pushed his plate back when he was done, his fingers idly tracing the _00:00_ on the inside of his left wrist. Earlier, whenever he had asked, Harry had told him it was something Teddy would come to know about later — he knew all about the soulmates, of course, not just the stagnant zeroes printed on his skin — but now he had his suspicions and wanted to clear them up.

He called for the man's attention, then showed him his wrist and asked, his voice wavering: "Does this mean that I — I d- _don't_ have a s-soulmate?"

Harry raised his eyebrows. "How did you come to _that_ conclusion, son?"

Teddy just gestured vaguely. "All my friends have their clocks ticking, and the only ones who have theirs at zeroes are the ones who already have met their soulmates."

"One," Harry said, clearing his throat, "when someone's soulmate d-dies…" He pulled up the sleeve of his shirt and showed Teddy his blank wrist. "The clock vanishes." Teddy started to apologise, he hasn't wanted to bring Ginny up, but Harry gestured for him to keep silent. "Two, like you said, the clock stops only when you meet your soulmate."

"But — but mine's always been this way," Teddy replied. "It's been this way for as long as I can remember."

Harry folded his hands on the top of the table. "When you were born, son, your clock read 2 years, 14 days, and a few hours, give or take. Can you think of someone who you might have met when you were that old?"

Teddy calculated up the dates. They added to 2nd of May, year 2000, if he was right. That day — that was the day Victoire had been born!

He looked at Harry. "Is it Vic?"

The man smiled slightly. "Is it. Her clock had said five hours and a few minutes, and it had freaked everyone out, until you turned up and wanted the 'lil baby' in your lap and both of your clocks stopped, the alarm ringing through the maternity ward.."

Teddy ducked his head, embarrassed. "Really?"

"Really." Harry then gave him a meaningful look. "And son, now that you know who your soulmate is, I think it's time we had another talk."

Teddy groaned out loud at that.

* * *

 **Word Count:** 739

 **Prompts used:**

For Hogwarts Romance Awareness Challenge, Day 7

• There's a timer on your wrist that counts down to the moment you meet your soulmate.  
• (AU) Single Parent (5 bonus points)


End file.
